The Hill Of BLOOD

By Matthew Carter

It was a boring, hot, summer afternoon. The only people to skateboard with were a couple of seven-year-olds named Bradley and George. We were hanging out in the shade staring down a big hill that’s on the left side of my house. I thought the hill was seventy feet down, but the little kids thought it was 200 feet.

After five minutes of arguing I finally said, "I’ll go down!’’

Then Bradley said, "That’s easy!’’

He sat on his skateboard and was about to go down until I said, "No! I’m going down standing up.’’

I got on my skateboard. I thought, "I can do it!" I started going down the hill. My feet were vibrating. It was a bumpy street. I was going real fast. In a few seconds I was already halfway down. I looked at the bottom of the hill and saw a sewer lid. I knew if I hit it, I would fall. So I tried to turn. It was too late to dodge the manhole cover. I bailed.

I did a couple rolls into the street. My body started sliding through the grime, and pebbles were grinding onto my back. I laid on the asphalt for a while. I was thinking how stupid I was to do that. By the time I got up, those kids had run down the street and already started annoying me.

Every limb on my body hurt. I looked at my hands. My right hand didn’t get it as bad as my left. My left hand had two inches of skin ripped off the palm, and it was throbbing. I lifted up my long shorts slowly, trying not to touch the fabric on the wound. I had scraped both my knees pretty badly. They were bloody and painful.

I grabbed my skateboard and started walking up the hill. Bradley and George were asking me questions. But I paid no attention to them and just concentrated on walking up the hill. I was very upset with myself.

Finally I got up the hill and went back to my house. My mom was mad when she saw me. She bandaged my knees, elbows, and hands. I couldn't skateboard for a week, and reopened my knee scab four times.

You have to get hurt if you want to be a good skater, but you don’t have to kill yourself to do it. I never tried the hill again, and I don’t ever want to.